Live data from Hacker News

Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

blogs.windows.com

281–290 of 296 posts

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#281
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This makes you seem like you don't understand the point of PowerShell remoting. Passing serialised scriptblocks to the remote host, executing them, and getting serialized objects back. Meaning you can pass serialisable objects around, handle errors, the multiple output streams, etc. over the remoting connection. Because it's integrated into the language, you can pull PowerShell modules over from the remote host to th…

you can pass serialisable objects around, handle errors, the multiple output streams, etc. over the remoting connection. That's fine in theory, except that some very common Windows Objects can't be serialized in any meaningful way (most painful one for me being the Windows Update Client), which means that certain "remote" operations are actually affecting the client machine, or are failing because the client lacks su…

How is that different from SSH? You can't serialise open sockets and pull them back over an SSH connection either.

a) I think the normal use is something like SCCM or InTune to automate Windows Updates, not manually connecting to a machine and trying to script the Windows Update Client.

b) Microsoft built Azure Stack with PowerShell automation. Are you saying Microsoft refused to give themselves the tools to efficiently manage their own fleet? What tools even are these?

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have zero issues with the native cmd.exe. However, I have changed the following: * Set the default font to Droid Sans Mono (Slashed) [1] * Set the scroll back to 9000 lines, and the default width/height to 132x50. * Used ANSI to colour code the prompt. * created a small tool called su.exe that re-launches cmd.exe as Administrator (it can't be done inline unfortunately) And then I use openSSH (the Windows 10 bundled…

Sure with a half dozen fixes you get an approximation of a modern terminal. GP is talking about the console, not the shell however. The console is a character grid designed around VGA hardware, not built on streams as a proper terminal is. CMD is another horribly-designed feeble tool compatible with COMMAND.COM, acceptable back in the eighties. Yes, its fine for running a program or two here and there if you've got l…

Thanks for that, I'll have a read.

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#283
post #274
post #93

Oh no, now we need to train all winIT how to use command line instead of mouse. Always, laughed while configuring/managing MS products. Great news anyway. Congrats on launch (2018)

Now we need to train UNIX admins how to do it without bash. SSH alone doesn't seem any good without all the UNIX tools.

Agree. Sorry for flame fueled post. Still, old but vivid MS memories. The key point (for me) ie. 8 years ago was really hard to efficiently and error-prone to do most of the task on MS platform. Hope the UNIX tools will ported soon too.

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it misleading at all? Hyper-V Manager for example is literally a wrapper for Powershell commands. Virtually all Windows administration can be done entirely in Powershell. And like I said, the literal default installation of Windows does not even include a GUI.

What do you consider the "literal default installation"?

https://i.imgur.com/Xx0F71p.png

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where does your opinion on Ansible lie then? It's a systems configuration and orchestration tool that by default, uses SSH as the transport. For Ansible users, Windows getting OpenSSH is a huge win, since we (presumably) will no longer have to jump through all the hoops WinRM throws you in order to configure Windows machines remotely.

See sibling. I dont have a problem witb using ssh as transport per se. Its using adhoc/bespoke Shell for introducing change. Its a bit unrelated but I, personally, lean more towards declarative than procedural and highly value intermediated access. Which doesnt quite match ansible afaik.

Right, so your issue is with shell access and using it for arbitrary systems changes then, and not SSH per se. You'd be just as annoyed if someone logged into a shell on the server via the console and started making unmanaged changes.

SSH was originally intended to replace the aging unencrypted protocols that were used for remote access (telnet, rsh etc). It comes from a time when configuration management tools like ansible, puppet et all didn't exist, and most system management was ad-hoc, or done by home grown scripting. So it makes a sense that it behaves the same way as rsh for the most part.

WinRM (which this Microsoft implementation of OpenSSH will replace for most Ansible/UNIX users that are managing Windows systems) also allowed arbitrary command execution as well, so it was really no better.

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#288

Does anyone know — sorry if I forget the correct terms — whether you can SSH with pub key auth and perform operations that require elevated permissions, such as disk resizing? I have some vague memory of limitations in earlier versions, with distinct differences between password auth and key auth.

If logging in as one of the adminstrators, you will be in an elevated session - so yes, you can do things like disk resizing.

The difference between password auth and key auth is that using password auth you can access network shares that need authentication from within the remote session. With key auth, you wont be able to.

Re: Windows Server 2019 Includes OpenSSH

#290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very first sentence of the article is: > The OpenSSH client and server are now available as a supported Feature-on-Demand in Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10 1809!

I know that, i've tried it and its really laggy. It might as well not be there at all.

you might want to create an issue for their devs to look into.

https://github.com/PowerShell/Win32-OpenSSH/issues

Post reply on HN